1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to handling nuclear fuel pellets and, more particularly, is concerned with a system for loaidng newly made (green) friable nuclear fuel pellets into sintering boats from a pellet press.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An operational step in the nuclear fuel fabrication process is the loading of friable nuclear fuel pellets, which have been ejected from the die table surface of a pellet press, into sintering boats (containers) in preparation for high temperature firing of the pellets in a sintering furnace. This operation requires careful handling of the pellets, because the pre-sintered pellets are easily crumbled.
Typical nucelar fuel pellet loading devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,332,120 and 4,566,835. The loader described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,120 emnploys a vertical chute which has a set of zig-zag inclined plates to guide the pellets into a boat which rests on a spring-biased platform. The loader described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,835 employs a horizontally disposed drum which receives a line of pellets into a vertically aligned lengthwise channel and which discharges the line of pellets into a boat when the drum rotates the channel to a below horizontal position.
What is needed is a more rapid sintering boat pellet loader, one which operates without stopping to change sintering boats and which transfers ejected pellets without stopping to first collect a line of pellets.